Central Pacific Railroad Essay

Steel, Steam, and the Death of a People

In October of 1893 the Central Pacific Railroad Company drove the first spike into what would soon become the most important railroad in the world and one which would change U.S. history forever. In the west the route began in San Francisco. Across the great plains the eastern route began in Omaha, Nebraska. They met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. During construction a brutal civil war raged through the country, sparked by hate, and fueled by fear. However, the southern secession and the war that followed created new opportunities as the southern states could no longer contest the route preferred by northern legislators. Likewise, previous legislation passed had already begun what the transcontinental

One of the most important effects was the exponential shrinkage of travel time across the country. This lead to a new style of business and consumerism, one that would take hold in evolving America. Likewise, the use of trains in the transport of goods was a catalyst for the economy of a neoteric America. This budding economy would rely on the freight capabilities of trains to provide resources throughout the country. On the other hand, easy access to the great plains was a key element in the near extinction of the American bison. The conservation of bison after their near extinction was an expensive and prolonged effort. In the future, the destruction of the plains Indian would come to haunt the United States, costing the federal government billions in reparations. Conversely, the construction of the transcontinental railroad strengthened America’s belief in manifest destiny and impacted the growth of American Imperialism. The growth of American Imperialism has led to territories in Central America and the acquisition of Hawaii as the 49th state. Furthermore, without the Transcontinental Railroad one could only speculate the impediment of American development, and how it would have affected world events, from America’s position as a world power to the outcome of both World